LIFE

Blogging has taken a backseat to LIFE. Unfortunately, for our family and friends that means that pictures have been few and far between. I hope to get back to blogging soon. Here is a brief recap of our comings and going since the last blog update. Sorry for the delay.

Elizabeth (aka Lizzy) is now in 1st grade and loves the freedom that comes with no longer being in kindergarten. She excels at sports and is the first to volunteer to help out around the house. She is turning into a beautiful, kind, smart and loving young lady. Jay and I could not be more proud of her!

Emily is now in 2nd grade with her sights set on college. Everyday she talks about which university she wants to attend. So far she can't decide between UCLA, USC or Stanford and every once in a while she'll throw out Oregon or New York. In June she received the Principle's Award which is given to honor students for all around outstanding achievement. Her laugh is utterly contagious and there isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't bring a smile to our faces.

Jason is currently in the 2nd year of his two year MPA program at CSUN....the light is at the end of the tunnel! He was also selected to be on a special committee for the school district that requires him to go to monthly meetings. The recent passing of his Aunt Norma has required him to spend much of his spare time traveling back and forth to San Francisco, sometimes on a weekly basis. She was an amazing woman and we will miss her dearly. He is a wonderful father and husband, words can't describe how much I love him.

Christine. I have been working as an RN now for over a year and love every minute of it. Working night shift has required Jason and the kids to make a huge adjustment, but they have done so with love and understanding. In May I was awarded New Grad of the Year in Med/Surg. They had a very nice luncheon for us and Jason was able to attend with me. I feel so blessed everyday for my kids, my hubby, my job and all my wonderful friends and family.

Thanks for your patience with this blog. I hope to be able to add pictures and keep you posted with our family happenings very soon!!

Toothfairy

Emily recently lost her first tooth!

Tee Ball

This summer Emily played non-competitive Tee Ball through the parks and recreation department. She loved it, especially the part where they announced her name to bat! The following are some pictures from one of her first games.

Last Day of School and Graduation

Proudly walking down the isle for pre-k graduation!

Certificates, flowers and balloons before a special anything you want lunch with mom and dad (no little sisters allowed).

Lizzie wanted to dress up and take picutres on her last day of school too.

Watch out kinderarten, here we come!!!!!

Our New Addition

We recently added a new member to our family, a beautiful 3 1/2 month old German Shorthaired Pointer. The girls have affectionately named him Jackson Butterfly. While nothing will ever replace the void we feel with the loss of Chief (our 9 year old Airedale Terrier that we lost over memorial day weekend), Jackson has certainly softened the blow. Its funny how much new puppies are like new babies, the only difference is a new baby doesn't run, jump or chew everything in sight.

Hair Cuts and Ballet

So, I took the girls with me to go get my haircut because Jason had to go into work. Since I always cut everyones hair at home this was there first time in a hair salon. THEY LOVED IT! The girl who cuts my hair let them sit up in the seat and gave them a little trim and style. Elizabeth asked for curls and Emily picked out a picture in a magazine that she wanted to look like (she picked the exact same style she already has). Needless to say, they felt very special and I'm sure convincing them that "a home haircut is just fine for them" will not be very easy in the future.

Showing off their new styles!

Lizzy is in her first class without her sister and loves it. Surprising out of all classes offered, she chose to take ballet. I don't know about you, but I had her pegged for a gymnastics/tumbling girls. After I took this picture outside of class, its obvious to me that ballet is the perfect fit for this little princess.

While Lizzy was in class Emily and I sat in the car together. Emily worked on her word search and I of course got in some much needed studying

Disneyland

I think this is pretty self explanitory! They were in heaven with the fairies!

Today we decided to take a last minute trip to UCLA to watch their final home game of the regular season. The added bonus was a half-time tribute to the 1969 NCAA Championship team, which means we got to see Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Sidny Wicks. The girls loved watching the game and getting a giant hug from the bruin mascot. After the game we walked around the campus and tried to do a little brain washing on the girls, hopeful that someday they will want to go there. We even snuck inside the library on campus, soooo beautiful!

Arizona Roadtrip

Since I have been on my break from school we have been trying to do a lot of catching up on family activites. One of the things we wanted to do was take the girls on a roadtrip through Arizona. In the past all of our roadtrips have been through California, but this year we decided to take the trailer and head east. We spent 11 days traveling all around the state. We started our adventure on the Mexican border at Saguaro National Park and then headed to Tuscon. Our next stop was Sedona by way of Flagstaff and then we stayed in Williams for our visit to the Grand Canyon. We ended our trip in Bullhead City and a visit with our friends John and Donna Mack. The grand total for miles driven ended up being close to 1,900 (at least 1,500 was spent listening to ABBA and the soundtrack from Mamma Mia - I was ready to pull my hair out). The following are pictures I picked out that I think best describes our grand adventure.

Enjoy!

Our first stop, Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe National Monument.

Here is a picture of a Saguaro cactus, this is only one of the thousands that filled up the desert landscape. We spent the day off roading on trails that lead us into the middle of the saguaro forests. The girls became official Junior Rangers during our stay here.

We found a really nice campground just outside of Tuscon. Just down the road from the capground was the Arizona-Sonora Dessert Museum. If you are ever traveling through Tuscon you have to stop here, the place is amazing! We spent the entire day walking around, listening to zoologists, digging for minerals and dinosaur fossils, and petting baby desert tortoises. In the picture above the girls and I have found a dinosaur fossil.

Here is a picture of a Gila Monster (he-la). This turned out being one of my favorite desert animals on the trip. They spend 9 months out of the year underground and can be very venomous.

Elizabeth found her favorite animal sleeping along one of the really cool walking paths around the museum. The skunk is behind glass inside its burrow. As you can see on her shirt, they were very proud of their junior ranger badges.

Throughout the museum/zoo the girls collected animal print stamps in a book. This is Emily in front of "her" Mountain Lion.

We were very lucky and got an upclose look!

Jason bought us tickets to the U of A vs Oregon State basketball game. We watched them win through the Wildcat foam cat claws we bought the girls from the team store. A funny side note, President Obama's brother-in-law (head coach for Oregon State) was tossed from the game.

The view from our seats.

Boothill Graveyard - Tombstone

Here is a picture of Jay and the girls in front of the gravesites of the Clanton and McLaury gang known for their famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral with the Earp brothers.

This cowgirl looks like a natural! Her great grandfathers would be proud.

We took a stage coach ride by all the historic sites in Tombstone.

The Cochise County Courthouse

The girls and I at the site of the famous O.K. Corral gunfight. All the movies make the fight so much more dramatic than it really was.

We visited several prehistoric archaeological sites throughout Arizona to learn about Hohokam Indians. Here is a picture of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. The Hohokams lived between AD (the begining of our modern ear) - 1500 AD at which time they vanished, completely abandoning their communities. They were highly advanced and known for building amazing communities. Pictured above is the three story high main structure, it was surrounded by dozens of smaller mud huts.

Jay and the girls in front of what remains of the three story main structure.

Hiking in Sedona.

We found some more Hohokam ruins just outside Sedona. At this site we were actually able to go inside and see (not touch, which was very hard for Elizabeth). Pictured above is a childs handprint from when the structure was originally built, kind of erie considering we were in a prehistoric house.

A view from the outside of the structure.

Williams

This was our first trip to the snow in the trailer. This is the town where we caught the train to the Grand Canyon.

Rails to The Rim

We spent the day exploring the south rim. I am positive the girls don't understand the majesty of such an amazing natural wonder, but someday they'll appreciate it.

Our last stop was Bullhead City and a visit with The Macks. The first night there we crossed the Colorado River and had dinner in Laughlin at the Saltgrass restaurant. We had a wonderful steak dinner and then dropped off the kids at the hotel daycare and tryed our luck at poker. The next day Jay and the girls got to take a couple of rides in the "Rhino", one of the Macks many awesome toys. Above, John is taking Emily for a ride.

Elizabeth also loved her ride in the Rhino! My next job will be to convince Jay that the girls and I need a Rhino of our own to take to the desert while he rides his motorcycle. Doubtful, but I have to try!

Christmas Update

I wasn't able to get out Christmas cards this year so I decided to use the blog and email to give you all an update. Hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! What can I say to get you all up to speed on the happenings in the Golding house these last couple of months? First and foremost the girls are growing like weeds and both are loving school. They just performed in their first christmas recital and were very excited to be able to have all their grandparents in the audience. Emily is a wonderful helper and is maturing more and more each day. Elizabeth is slowly loosing her toddler pronunciations which constantly reminds me that my baby is growing up. I will definitly cry when she stops saying "kunk" and starts to say skunk. Jason is excited beyond words to not be working the Rose Floats this year. This will be the first time we will spend new years eve together since we were married almost 10 years ago. He has even planned a 12 day camping trip to Arizona for us in January. I have just finished my first full semester of nursing school, only 3 more semesters to go! Needless to say, I am extremely happy to be back to being a mommy and wife again (if you've seen or talked to me the last 16 weeks you would know that I didn't go anywhere or do anything w/out a book or my notes to study). The following are some recent pictures, hope you enjoy! 2008 has been a great year for us and we feel blessed everyday for our health, for eachother and for all of you. Merry Christmas!!!

Love,

Jason, Christine, Emily and Elizabeth